Zimmerman's estranged wife says he's 'reckless'

Friday

Sep 6, 2013 at 1:26 PM

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SANFORD, Fla. — George Zimmerman's wife, Shellie, said she stood by her man ''through everything'' but once he was acquitted of murder charges in the 2012 shooting of teenager Trayvon Martin, he left her with ''a bunch of pieces of broken glass.''

Zimmerman, who filed for divorce from George Zimmerman on Thursday, told ABC's ''Good Morning America'' in an interview aired Friday that her husband is selfish.

In the interview, she said her husband has only stayed in their house three or four nights since the trial ended in July and that they even tried counseling but she moved out Aug. 13.

''I have a selfish husband, and I think George is all about George,'' she said.

Last week, Shellie Zimmerman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor perjury charge for lying during a bail hearing after her husband's arrest after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Martin. She was sentenced to a year's probation and 100 hours of community service. Her husband did not attend the hearing in the Sanford, Fla., courtroom.

''I stood by my husband through everything,'' she told ABC, ''and I kind of feel like he left me with a bunch of pieces of broken glass that I'm supposed to now assemble and make a life.''

ABC first reported the divorce filing Thursday. Email messages and phone calls to George Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara were not immediately returned. But Zimmerman's brother, Robert Zimmerman, wrote on Twitter: ''Pray 4 them.''

Shellie Zimmerman's felony perjury charge came after she lied about the couple's assets when her husband was seeking release from jail on a lower bond. Court records show that in the days before the June 2012 bond hearing, Shellie Zimmerman transferred $74,000 — broken into eight smaller transfers ranging from $7,500 to $9,990 — from her husband's credit union account to hers. It also shows that $47,000 was transferred from George Zimmerman's account to his sister's in the days before the hearing. Amounts of over $10,000 would have been reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

Much of the money came from donations to a website that had been established to pay for George Zimmerman's defense.

During the bond hearing, Shellie Zimmerman testified that the couple had limited funds because she was a full-time student and her husband wasn't working.

After she pleaded guilty, she told ABC that she lied. ''I can rationalize a lot of reasons for why I was misleading, but the truth is that I knew I was lying,'' she said.

In the interview on Friday, Shellie Zimmerman said she'll seek custody of the couple's two dogs and a share of anything he might win in a defamation lawsuit he's filed against NBC.

George Zimmerman's wife is asking in divorce papers that he pay for a permanent life insurance policy with her named as the beneficiary.

Shellie Zimmerman asked in the petition released Friday that a judge order George Zimmerman to pay the premiums on the policy.

She also is seeking an equal distribution of their checking accounts, trusts, partnerships and any unknown assets.

She asked that a judge prevent him from selling off any property.

The petition says the couple separated a month after Zimmerman was acquitted in July of any crime for fatally shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

''I have been married to a person for about seven years and I don't think I ever really knew him at all,' Shellie said.'

She says her husband was verbally abusive toward her and that he has been making what she considers ''reckless decisions.'' She didn't specify what those decisions were. ''In my opinion, he feels more invincible'' since his acquittal, she added.

Shellie Zimmerman said the timing seems right to begin a new life.

''I have supported him for so long and neglected myself for too long,'' Shellie Zimmerman said. ''And I feel like I'm finally starting to feel empowered again.''